Spaces in Turmoil

The coronavirus crisis and its widespread effects have revealed the fragility of our existence in our most private spaces, as well as in the general social order. This is a period of fear and insecurity, yet also one of potential insight. It allows us to see through the cracks in the foundations of our existence and reexamine them, though the encounter may be distressful and shocking.

This exhibition cluster seeks to explore the familiar spaces that, in a time of crisis, can become strange and deceptive. The "Uncanny" ("Das Unheimliche"), a well-known term in modern phsycoanalasis, is a concept proposed by Sigmund Freud to describe the disturbing phenomenon of something familiar, yet at the same time strange and threatening. It seems that for many, the current crisis has brought to the surface ambivalent feelings towards the domestic and family space, which secures our lives but can also become a simmering, suffocating pressure zone.

The cluster's exhibitions address the various existential spaces in which cracks have appeared following the profound crisis now afflicting the entire world. Some concern the challenge to the concept of "home" as a safe space of privacy and family warmth; others explore the space of the body, which has been subjected to state supervision and policing. The woman's body, identified with the home, also becomes more vulnerable in times of confinement. Another theme is the weakening of boundaries between man and nature, with animals invading the spaces vacated by humans under quarantine. The cluster also explores the growing influence of the virtual world on our psyche, to the point of disconnection with our physical existence and the real spaces surrounding us.

These exhibitions present a wide range of works from different periods in Israeli art. Alongside contemporary works, including those created at the height of the crisis, it shows earlier pieces, including works from the collection of the Haifa Museum of Art. The historical interest of Israeli art in uncanny existential spaces is thus endowed with another layer of meaning.

What has happened to us, and what awaits each of us? What impact will the pandemic have on mankind? Will we be able to heal the cracks in the spaces of our existence and regain their familiar and unthreatening character, or will fear remains with us? These questions and others arise in the context of the current exhibitions, mounted in immediate response to the catastrophe that has stricken us and inviting viewers to contemplate its implications.